Wrench Light

[Live Faster]

So I have been getting a wrench symbol in the dash every now and then. Doesn't matter what the weather is like or how long my car idles for before driving. One thing I do notice is that short drives with the car being turned on and off trigger it more often. All I do is shut the car off restart it and it goes away. It definitely seems to take some power away when it's on. I've checked over everything a million times but can't find anything out of the ordinary under the hood. I never throw a CEL so the SCT scanner is useless. My question is what type of scanner could I buy that would indicate what the wrench symbol is setting off?? Thanks for all input.

Dustin

 

[Norton]

So I have been getting a wrench symbol in the dash every now and then. Doesn't matter what the weather is like or how long my car idles for before driving. One thing I do notice is that short drives with the car being turned on and off trigger it more often. All I do is shut the car off restart it and it goes away. It definitely seems to take some power away when it's on. I've checked over everything a million times but can't find anything out of the ordinary under the hood. I never throw a CEL so the SCT scanner is useless. My question is what type of scanner could I buy that would indicate what the wrench symbol is setting off?? Thanks for all input.

According to page 94 of the Owner's Manual, the "Powertrain Malfunction/Reduced Power" light "Illuminates when a powertrain fault has been detected. Contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible."

Obviously, that tracks with your "take some power away" observation, but I'm not sure what (if any) consumer scanner may be able to diagnose the root cause.

 

[Cman01]

the wrench light is your CEL (check engine light) and your SCT scanner should be able to scan for codes to let you know what's going on to cause the light to come on.

Once you fix the problem you can use the scanner to erase the codes and make the light go out.

Tony

 

[Live Faster]

the wrench light is your CEL (check engine light) and your SCT scanner should be able to scan for codes to let you know what's going on to cause the light to come on.

Once you fix the problem you can use the scanner to erase the codes and make the light go out.

Tony

That's the thing when the wrench light first came on I plugged the SCT in but it said no errors found. I've had a few engine lights come on and the SCT told me what the issue was, just not with the wrench symbol. Think Norton might be right and won't be able to find a scanner that'll pick up what's being thrown. If nobody has any other things to check I'll take it into the dealer and see if I can get the wrench to pop up.

 

[Entrenched]

That's the thing when the wrench light first came on I plugged the SCT in but it said no errors found. I've had a few engine lights come on and the SCT told me what the issue was, just not with the wrench symbol. Think Norton might be right and won't be able to find a scanner that'll pick up what's being thrown. If nobody has any other things to check I'll take it into the dealer and see if I can get the wrench to pop up.

Throttle body issue if no other codes are present.

 

[Snoopy49]

From the 2014 Mustang Service Manual.

Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL)
The MIL notifies the driver the PCM has confirmed an on board diagnostic (OBD) emission related component or system concern. When this occurs, an OBD DTC sets.
• The MIL is located in the instrument panel cluster (IPC) and is labeled CHECK ENGINE, SERVICE ENGINE SOON or the international standards organization (ISO) standard engine symbol.
• The MIL is illuminated with the ignition ON, engine OFF, until the engine is cranked for starting. The MIL will turn OFF after engine start if no concerns are present.
• The MIL may flash after 17 seconds with the ignition ON, engine OFF, unless the OBD inspection/maintenance (I/M) readiness indicators indicate all of the OBD monitors have completed since the last keep alive memory (KAM) reset or since the PCM DTCs have been cleared with a reset command from the scan tool.
• The MIL will remain illuminated after engine start if a confirmed emission related concern or an OBD DTC exists.
• If the MIL flashes at a steady rate, after engine start, a severe misfire condition may exist.
• The MIL will remain OFF with the ignition ON, engine OFF, if a MIL indicator or IPC concern is present.
• To turn OFF the MIL after a repair, a reset command from the scan tool must be sent, or 3 consecutive drive cycles must be completed without a concern.
• If the MIL flashes erratically, a low battery voltage concern may be present causing the PCM to reset during cranking.
• For all MIL concerns, go to Section 3 , Symptom Charts.

 

[Live Faster]

Well I could swap my factory TB back and see if it goes away,that woud be an easy fix. On the points Snoopy presented my light illuminates when key is turned on and engine is off and after firing up the car it stays on. I've never had it come on while driving so if I read this correctly could have something to do with the emissions. I am running an o/f xpipe now.

 

[Turbosnake95]

I have also experienced the wrench / check engine light issue. My SCT tuner diagnosing the coding down to something with the Throttle body having an error. Symptom that I had when the wrench light came on would be that the car goes into limp mode. After a couple restarts it would be back to normal and wrench light would go away, check engine would have to be cleared with SCT tuner. This has only happened maybe around 10-15 times total...usually at the most inconvenient times HA!

After some raw OCD testing it seemed I could manipulate it to happen more if I turn the ignition switch two fast when starting.... dunno if that holds any water..

Also take note I never had any issue prior to the installation of the below modifications in my SIG.

I did do some research on this and it seems to come down to possibly something with the SCT tune?

I have been unable to work with Van / Lund on the issue as the car is in storage these last 10 months and me out of the country.

Other than that the car runs very strong with around 10,000 miles on it to date and around 5,500 since modifications were done.

Will watch this thread closely for any updates or possible solutions

 

[Live Faster]

Thanks for your post Turbosnake...I to notice if I go to quickly with the key(on/off) it'll pop up almost immediately. Weird part for me is I can't get my SCT programmer to pick up on anything at all. If I do get the wrench symbol I just turn the key back to off wait 5 secs and turn it on and it's gone. Car runs perfect every time. There's only one time I got the wrench symbol and fired my car up and drove it..that's how I knew my car was in limp mode. I'm tuned by Lund and mods are pretty much the same as yours but no lower just an upper pulley.

 

[Live Faster]

Update....replaced my TB with a new one and so far have not had a wrench come up. Tried to duplicate what was happening with a few quick cycles of the key and letting it run for abit then shutting it off and firing it back up. Seems all good so far. Thanks to everyone who chimed in. Forums are a great thing!! :beer:

 

[Blackdevil77]

Update....replaced my TB with a new one and so far have not had a wrench come up. Tried to duplicate what was happening with a few quick cycles of the key and letting it run for abit then shutting it off and firing it back up. Seems all good so far. Thanks to everyone who chimed in. Forums are a great thing!! :beer:

What TB did you have on the car?

 

[Live Faster]

Ford Racing 65mm

 

[Turbosnake95]

Well crap! Then I will most likely have to switch out my Ford Racing 65mm TB. The TB doesn't even have 6,000 mile on it yet. Guess it is time to upgrade to something different. Not very excited...

Happy it worked out for you OP.

 

[Live Faster]

I only had under 4000 on mine and I agree sucks having to throw out another $600 for another one. I went with the 67mm VMP one this time. Looks really nice and no issues so far so im happy. If you have your stock TB layin around you could swap that out real quick and see if it fixes your issue,least you'll know if it's the TB or throttle sensor.

 

[Robot_trainer]

I only had under 4000 on mine and I agree sucks having to throw out another $600 for another one. I went with the 67mm VMP one this time. Looks really nice and no issues so far so im happy. If you have your stock TB layin around you could swap that out real quick and see if it fixes your issue,least you'll know if it's the TB or throttle sensor.

I'm pretty sure the VMP uses the same Ford electronics doesn't it? If so, I wouldn't think one is better than the other. It's possible Ford had a few with bum electronics.

 

[Live Faster]

It is the same electronics for sure and I'm not sayin one is better then the other. Mine must have been a dud,ever since I put it on Ive been throwing a wrench symbol. Few people recommended swapping out TB's to see if it cured it.

 

[Robot_trainer]

It is the same electronics for sure and I'm not sayin one is better then the other. Mine must have been a dud,ever since I put it on Ive been throwing a wrench symbol. Few people recommended swapping out TB's to see if it cured it.

So in order to do that you would need to put the OEM tune back in, correct? I wonder if it was just a bad batch of controls/feedback sensors.

 

[Live Faster]

No I still kept my Lund tune on,just did swaps and made sure all was well again. Even if you went back to stock TB for a few days while you tested it out wouldn't hurt it. There's guys that don't even run a tune for a bigger TB. I would like to think maybe a bad batch of electronics on them,I bought it at American muscle last June so I'm pretty sure they won't warranty it but I'm gonna try anyways.

 

[Robot_trainer]

No I still kept my Lund tune on,just did swaps and made sure all was well again. Even if you went back to stock TB for a few days while you tested it out wouldn't hurt it. There's guys that don't even run a tune for a bigger TB. I would like to think maybe a bad batch of electronics on them,I bought it at American muscle last June so I'm pretty sure they won't warranty it but I'm gonna try anyways.

It sure is worth a try. Worst thing that could happen is they say no.

 

[Live Faster]

So after a quick cruise today with my new shifter I got the dreaded wrench again!! Really starting to upset me with this thing. So what I have done to eliminate it...new TB,new MAF sensor,new MAF wiring harness. I've checked numerous times for air leaks and all that good stuff. I've even tried a different tune,still no go. Was so good this year after I swapped out TB. On one side note though I now can pull up the code if the symbol sticks around log enough and it is P0100. This was the main reason why I got a new wiring harness. Still same outcome though flick the ignition on/off a few times and it's gone and car drives great. Anymore ideas out there????